


Impossible Love

by yer_a_fangirl_castiel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hyacinth Disease, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-05 00:32:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12179505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yer_a_fangirl_castiel/pseuds/yer_a_fangirl_castiel
Summary: They had always said that you can't get Hyacinth Disease twice.It was impossible: you would never be able to recall your love after the surgery.But somehow, it happened to Keith.





	1. Starstruck Love

They said it was impossible for the flowers to grow back.

Perhaps it was the fact that he was now floating in space, away from all of the laws of medicine that contained humans.

Perhaps it was because Lance was… Lance.

Lance was impeccable. Every flight he failed at the Garrison, every rule he broke, he laughed it off.  
He smiled as though the stars already resided in his eyes.  
He laughed with the warmth of a thousand suns.

Keith watched from afar, in awe of the magnificent being who glowed with a radiance he had never encountered.

But blue eyes never met violet, and Keith grew aware that his happiness, that flourished in the taller boy's wake, would never be returned.

And when the beaming star of a crush grew, whirling as the months stretched on, Keith went unnoticed by the brown-haired boy.

But, of course, the infatuation grew, raging into a supernova, hot, beautiful, unfortunate and…

Red.

Crimson blood that dribbled down his chin when he coughed, hastily wiped off on the cuff of his sleeve.

A yellow and orange daffodil, sticky with hot blood, smoothly sliding from his throat, the first flower to be borne.

That night Keith cried.

He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Lance, this bright beacon of light in his ever-darkening world.

But soon the flowers progressed to roses, the thorns ripping at his throat, tearing into his heart.

Keith became violent, he lashed out. He couldn't help it; every time he breathed he could feel sharp talons of love wrapping around his lungs.

It wasn’t long before the councillor sought him out, gently probing as to what had caused this onslaught of misbehavior.  
It would have been fine- Keith denied everything.

But in that moment, he felt a tickle in his throat and horror set in.

He breathed harshly through his nose, praying that the feeling would disappear.

But you can never repress love.

There was a single petal, warm in his palm, still connected by strands of bile and blood to his lips. Keith felt a single tear slip down his face as the councillor gasped in realization. Another tear joined his face, and Keith raised his sorrowful eyes to look at the man before him, his face aghast.

“Please,” Keith croaked, revealing blood-stained teeth, “I don’t want to let him go.”

He looked into the councillors eyes and saw regret. He knew the answer before words formed in the air.

“I’m sorry, Keith.”

There was protocol, of course, no student would die of this, not on the Garrison’s watch.

He was drugged, forced into surgery, and ‘fixed’. 

Exiled from the Garrison itself for being insubordinate, and sent to live in a desert shack, isolated from all others. A small reminder not to make another ‘mistake’.

On lonely nights he would lie on the dusty ground and look at the stars, full and bright, and dreamed that he’d almost touched them. He no longer knew who it was that had driven him to almost suicide, and he had been told that it didn’t matter.

But on nights when the Milky Way was distinct against the deep sapphire sky, Keith would wonder about who it was. Who had it been. What it felt like to be in love that deep.

But Lance was gone, never allowed back into Keith’s mind again.

At the Garrison, a newly made fighter-pilot wondered vaguely about what happened to the impressive, unattainable boy with soft amethyst eyes.

When they met again, Lance knew Keith, but Keith didn’t know Lance.

“Nope. No, you- No, no, no. No, you don't. I’m saving Shiro.” Bold, bright, the star that Keith had forgotten.

“Who are you?” The words brazen and uncaring, ignorant of who this was.

“Who am I? Uh, the name’s Lance?” Incredulous- how could he have been forgotten?

“We were in the same class at the Garrison?” Under his facade, praying that this perfect idol would recognize him.

Vague memories of a cargo pilot, nothing more. No rush of warmth, nothing. Keith physically could not recall Lance, he was nothing but a shadow clouding the horizon of his memory.

Lance waited, hopeful, for the moment when recognition struck.

But the night passed, with clouds of dust, insults, and a team united for the first time, and there was no recognition.

There would never be anything.

 

They said it couldn’t happen twice.

The promised it would never come back.

But here Keith was, only two years later, crying at his sink as he gagged out the first flower. It was messy and thick, many smaller flowers embodying the large azure hyacinth.

Keith met his own eyes in the mirror, red with tears and memories that gushed into the gaps of his mind.

He’d fallen twice for the same person, and the poison in his blood was blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daffodils symbolize unrequited love. A single daffodil is said to bring misfortune.
> 
> Hyacinths, especially blue ones, represent faithfulness, sincerity, and loyalty.


	2. Suppressed Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance stifles the glimmers of love that beg to be released.

Lance crushed his feelings.

They’d been on the ship for almost a year now, saving planets and going on insane adventures together.

He’d grown closer to Keith, insulting him to cover up the amazement he felt whenever the incredible pilot chose to talk to him.

He’d given up hoping that Keith would remember him from the Garrison months ago.

It was alright- they had their own memories now. Bonding moments, confessing insecurities, becoming friends.

But it didn’t stop Lance from wanting more.

He wanted to be allowed to feel that gleaming silver glow whenever Keith got close.

He wanted to be able to hold the strong, calloused hands in his own.

He wanted to indulge in Keith, to freely adore the magnificent boy.

He wanted to call him his own.

 

But Keith was Keith, an unachievable goal. Someone who would always be better, who could always look down and see Lance struggling.

He knew it couldn’t last; if these wretched feelings escalated any more, he might start coughing up petals.

And the last thing he wanted to do was forget Keith.

So he grasped the glow of happiness tightly, and cut it back, forcing it to wither in the depths of his heart.

No moonlight was allowed to shine on them, even though moonbeams flowed from Keith’s face whenever he smiled.

But it worked, no matter how painful, and it would have continued forever, a miserable cycle of regret and self-hatred.

Until one day, Keith began to avoid him, inexplicably.

And it stirred the suppressed love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will make a third part because I'm only mildly evil.


	3. Scarred Love

It was abrupt, harsh, cold.

One day Keith was there, smiling and laughing, a friend. There was no tension, just pure, sweet bliss. Their souls were golden and silver, intertwining, a priceless bond. It was one of those days where Lance _ached_ to be allowed to feel.

_That night, Keith choked out his first complete flower from this recurrence of the disease. It was horrifyingly gorgeous, but it reminded Keith that he was not allowed to have days as perfect as the last had been. And so, a small vase on his bedside stand contained a singular flower, an indigo beauty draped in strands of ruby blood. A royal blue hyacinth. The red paladin vowed to be more careful._

The next day, Keith was jumpy, constantly on edge. Whenever Lance entered a room, Keith found an excuse to exit.

At breakfast, Keith shoveled down his goop and bolted before Lance could even say hello.

During training, Keith avoided Lance as much as possible, insisting on sparring with Shiro. He didn’t watch the other’s back when they battled the fighting robots. The team barely passed level three. Their chemistry was off, and it caused the whole team to become irritable.

They couldn't even form Voltron, no matter how many hours they spent flying in formation with false energy.

At dinner, while they debriefed the horrible day, Keith broke into a coughing fit in the middle of Shiro’s talk. With no explanation, he fled the room, the cuff of his jacket pressed tightly to his mouth as coughs racked his body.

As per usual, everyone turned to the blue paladin, eyes pleading him to chase down Keith and help him, because that was what Lance always did.

Lance didn’t even notice, he was already on his feet and after Keith, valiantly attempting to quell the tsunami of feelings that threatened the walls around his heart.

But as soon as Keith heard pursuing footsteps, he sprinted to his room and refused to come out, ignoring Lance’s pleas.

A week passed, pain flowing freely throughout the castle, a cycle of misery.

Keith believed that the longer he stayed near Lance, the faster the flowers would arise.

Lance simply believed that Keith had realized all of Lance’s flaws, and hated him.

Keith never saw the concerned, heartbroken eyes that trailed him as he fled room after room.

Lance never realized how bloodshot eyes focused solely on him, before being torn away reproachfully, red staining Keith’s jacket sleeve.

It was the longest week of their lives.

Finally, Shiro had enough. He approached Lance, demanding to know what had broken apart the growing friendship.

He wasn’t expecting Lance to break down, confessing that Keith hated him, and there was nothing he could do.

“Just talk to him. I promise- no, don't give me that look, Lance. I PROMISE that he does not hate you.”

It took only twelve hours for Lance to give in to Shiro’s advice. Truthfully, he just couldn't stand the burning in his chest anymore.

 

The metal door was cold under Lance’s knuckles as he knocked.

“Come on Keith, I know you’ve been ignoring me, please, just open up,” Lance sighed, leaning his forehead against the door.

The harsh white entrance remained sealed.

Lance planted his palm up against it, willing it to open.

“Look, I know I’ve screwed up before man. But this time-” his voice broke off, vulnerable and heartbroken. “This time I don’t know what happened. I- I get it if you’re angry with me, but please, _please_ , talk to me man. We can sort this out. I just- I just want to talk, okay?”

He bared his heart, raw, unprotected, thrust out to the boy behind the door.

Yet it was only returned with a tragic silence.

Lace turned away, defeated, a single tear breaking down his downcast face.

Subsequently, a violent choking erupted from behind the door.

“Keith?” Lance whirled around, pressing his ear flat to the surface. “Keith, what’s happening? Are you alright?”

A few muffled words trembled in the air, indecipherable, before being cut off completely with wet, scratchy coughs.

Panic flared though Lance- was Keith badly sick? These coughs sounded much more brutal than the ones he had heard previously. He’d assumed it was some sort of random space illness but-- 

His blood ran cold, submersing him in concern for the ebony-haired boy behind the door.

 _‘Does he need a healing pod? Is he injured? Was he- no, he couldn't be dying. Could he?’_ A tirade of worst-case scenarios whipped against his heart, weakening the careful walls that enclosed it.

Lance pounded his fist on the door, his voice rising with hysteria. “Keith? Keith? Let me in, please! What’s wrong?”

When there was no reply, except for more coughing and a strange gagging sound, Lance couldn’t help it.

He surged forward, feeling the crevices of the doorway, praying for a way to get in.

His voice was raw, in pain, as he called out Keith’s name, again and again.

His fists became bloody from where he punched on the solid door, but the pain went unregistered, and he only pounded harder.

Finally, his desperate fingers found a hidden niche along the seams of the doorframe, and the door slid open.

Lance stumbled forwards, arms outstretched, until his brain recognized what he was seeing.

His brain short-circuited in utter shock. It was simply impossible- there was no way--

Nevertheless, here he stood, in the middle of Keith’s bedroom, his heart sinking faster than a stone, frozen solid with pain.

Crouched in the center of the room, Keith knelt, his hands clamped painfully over his mouth. The grip was fierce, but Lance could see small droplets of blood oozing through.

In the soft blue Altean lighting, the pool of blood that lapped at Keith’s knees glinted faintly.

Violet eyes met blue, the slumped figure with wild, terrified eyes, the newcomer in disbelief and fear.

Realization hit him, a sword of icy despair straight to the heart.

The feelings he had tried so hard to suppress, the ones locked deep in the darkest corner of his soul, broke free of their enclosure. Slivers of frozen love spiked off and embedded themselves within his heart. It was agony, pangs of repressed passion echoing through him, from his scarred heart to his throbbing fingertips. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to stop Keith's pain, to _heal_ him.

Lance fell to his knees beside Keith, the silver radiance of love rushing throughout his being.

Tears fell freely, scaldingly hot, scorching ashen tracks down the blue paladin’s cheeks.

A single word, a question, a heart made of glass.

_“Who?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red and white carnations symbolize deep, undying love.


	4. Sanguine Love

Two hearts broken for the same cause.

Two hearts holding secrets, unwilling to share.

Two hearts that were meant to meld into one.

One heart gave out, unable to resist it’s true nature any longer.

“It’s _you_.”

The words hushed, quiet, but clear. As true as the spikes that clenched fiercely around the fragile lungs.

“W-wha-what?”

The words spluttered, confused, terrified that they had misheard, but just a tiny bit hopeful, and miniscule bit of healed glass.

“It’s _YOU_ ,” The scared voice strengthened, unable to conceal the overflowing emotions. Yet the disease-ridden boy refused to meet the other’s eyes, keeping them firmly trained on the pool of blood he was currently kneeling in.

“You. My beautiful idiot. You’re the one who’s wrapped thorns round my heart twice in a row, the one who has broken my heart, my soul and then rebuilt me in more ways than you could possibly imagine. You were my downfall and you were the angel to bring me back. You are my everything, and yet I mean nothing to you.” Keith took a deep, shuddering breath, his chest heaving with the emotion that was gushing forth from his lips. He did not dare look upwards, fearing the look of revulsion that he feared would be painted on Lance’s face.

He continued his spiel, with less of a burning urgency this time, more of a invisible passion that simply glowed, kept one warm on a winter’s night, but did not scald.

“I admit that it hurts, and it does, it burns with every poisoned breath I take, but I love you, more than all of the stars in the universe, and I do not EVER want to forget you again. I know-” Keith broke off, taking a heavy, scratchy breath. 

When his voice returned, it was with vigor, unstoppable.“I know that you could never feel the same, and that the rest of my short life will be spent in agony, with you distanced from me, and yes, my soul will be shattered, but it’s alright. It’s not your fault, Lance. Don’t ever blame this on yourself. I’ve tried to hate you for so long. I've tried to blame it all on you for infecting me, but I can’t, I just can’t.”

Words that couldn’t be stopped once they had started, words that tumbled and flowed like a waterfall, pounding into the rocks below.

Keith finally looked up into Lance’s eyes, allowing the royal purple eyes to release tears.

Lance gaped, unable to form words of his own, eyes full of disbelief, and possibly, a glimmer of hope.

“And do you want to know why I can’t, Lance?”

Keith was earnest, true, pouring out every concealed feeling, every unapproved word that he’d always yearned to spill.

“It’s because I love you too goddamn much to ever hate you. You are perfect, with your flaws and your flirting, your caring and your carelessness. I love all of you, every imperfection, every corny joke. It's hard, sometimes, to love someone unconditionally. But I love you, Lance, and please, when I’m gone, don’t ever forget that,”

There was a defiance behind these words, a type of absolute acceptance. A firm realization that he would die for this boy, no questions asked.

“Don’t forget me.”

The voice had tapered off, careful again, aware of the burden that had disintegrated from his shoulders, only to reform on top of Lance’s heart.

And of course, Lance's heart was still tender, freshly released from the dungeon that had enclosed it for so long. It was a young butterfly, flapping it’s moist wings in the sun, getting stronger every minute, but not quite able to fly. As Keith let his words fall, each one became a sunbeam on the fragile wings, and as the last words were spoken, Lance gathered himself and took off, soaring into the unpredictable skies of love.

“Wha-what do you mean- ‘When I’m gone?’” Lance spoke, his voice wrecked, the words cracking with raw anguish.

“Lance, you know- you know this disease kills, and I’m not--I’m never losing you again.”

Despite it all, Lance let out a watery chuckle.  
“I’m not letting you go that easily, angel. You’re not going anywhere.”  
“Wha-”  
“I- I- I love you too much for that to ever happen, Keith. I-uh- I didn’t allow myself to feel, I held back every spike of emotion I felt toward you because I thought you were unattainable, and I-I didn’t want to end up- well- I didn't want to catch the disease. But I love you Keith, I’ve loved you since the night we rescued Shiro, I’ve loved you every single moment since then. You are the moon on a cloudy night, and I know thats cheesy, but you light a path through a world that is dark and uncaring. You are my anchor when stormy seas hit, a forbidden love, but something I’ve always known.”

“You are my world, Keith, and I will never, ever, let you go.”

Keith’s eyes widened in astonishment, unable to comprehend. He felt a weight lift from his chest, and realized his breathing wasn’t as painful as it had been only seconds ago.

“Lan--”

And then Keith collapsed, passed out in the stale droplets of blood that had previously accumulated on the floor.

Lance’s heart leapt to his throat, alarm clouding is senses and driving him hysteria.  
“Keith? Keith? P-please, Keith, wake up. Oh my god, please, Keith, wake up, come on--” The blue paladin frantically heaved the unconscious boy from the puddle of blood, shaking him slightly. His breathing increased rapidly as he fumbled for a pulse. Half-spoken pleas bled from his mouth, willing the precious, impossible, Keith to wake up, _his_ Keith, to flutter open those long lashes to reveal the orchid-colored galaxies underneath. Trembling, his clumsy fingers grasped the wrist of this boy, this impeccable leader that he had just confessed to, someone who he could spend eternity with.

He waited, desperately imploring whatever higher power could hear him for a pulse, for the dull, steady beat of life beneath his fingertips.

He waited...

And waited…

But there was nothing, no tremor beneath the skin.

When the panic-stricken boy pressed his palm to the lifeless chest, there was no resounding heartbeat.

The sound that arose from the blue paladin’s heart was unholy, inhuman even. It was a cry of thorns that bled and love torn away before it could grow. It was a wail of utter misery, a tribute to the loss of a soulmate. It was a sound that burrowed into the hearts of all that heard it, planting tiny seeds of dark sorrow within. A howl of the universe crashing around Lance's feet, the stars being extinguished, for nothing would ever glow as bright as the moon that had once lit his path. There was nothing but onyx shadows and regret left for this boy.

Here he knelt, beside the body of his whole universe collapsed into one person.  
This person lay in an ocean of his own blood, eyelashes knitting together in finality.

In this instant of pain, Lance wanted nothing more than to join him, to let his warm blood meet the cold remnants of his love’s life.

And then he was being dragged away, away from the body on the floor, and he was screaming, he was fighting, he was vicious. He could not ever leave Keith's side, no, he must get back to him, he must. Whoever restrained him from his destiny had hell to pay, for there was nothing he would not do.

It’s incredible what a human will do when someone they love is in danger.

But a sudden pain rammed into his head and Lance lapsed into the ashen world of the unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long. I might make a next chapter if anyone wants a happy ending.


	5. Eternal Love

Although it is entirely possible for this story to end in heartbreak, a lone man scarred forever with regret in what could have been, that is not how this tale transpired.

Because the world didn’t end that night.

It was only an aftershock of the illness that had clung to Keith for so long.

You see, when the Hyacinth Disease realizes that it’s love is reciprocated, it retracts it’s thorns and dwindles to nothing but a scar on the victim's chest. The body goes into complete shock as the invading virus abruptly retracts, and it immediately shuts down, trying to heal itself as fast as possible. The bodily functions stop temporarily to adjust to the loss of poison, and take a while to restart. The subject always survives this time period, but it is necessary, in order to reprogram the body.

With the help of a healing pod, it only took a few hours for Keith to emerge, fully healthy, save his own, personal scar. It took the form of an ambrosia flower, for mutual, heavenly love.

 

And what about Keith and Lance, you ask?

What happened to the two lovers who defied the laws of reality for one another?

Once they got over their misgivings and accepted that the other was truly, irreversibly, in love with them, their romance blossomed. It was not perfect, for nothing is ever truly impeccable, but they never ceased their unbreakable love.

Their bond was regaled in fairy tales across the universe, a story about two young men, defenders of galaxies, heroes of Voltron, and their impossible love. A supernova and a moon, eternal soulmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I have officially finished this! I am super proud of it and I hope you liked it too!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry.  
> (But please kudos/comment anyway)


End file.
